Post by Seal on Feb 17, 2017 19:43:31 GMT

I have looked into it as a library just a bit away from me has a 3D printer open to the public. It seems like there are a good number of free downloads for various models. I have looked at the yeggi.com site...some cool stuff.

Post by Seal on Feb 17, 2017 22:40:29 GMT

I realize that many 3d print jobs need to be done in separate parts, but how long would it take for a basic 3d printer to print up say a stack of five 28mm oil barrels? I'm curious about the wait times.

Btw, Thunder Chrome's stuff is cool. I really like the Thunder Dome. I envisioned some Orcs or Dark Eldar challenging some unlucky xenos to cage fights lol.

Post by mattcaron on Feb 21, 2017 19:08:46 GMT

Seal It depends on the printer. :-) For mine (an SLA DLP printer) the layer time is fixed, so the time is just based on model height. So. if the barrels were stacked 5 tall, it would take 5 times as long as 5 barrels horizontally. For an FDM printer (the kind that melt plastic fed off a spool), the time goes up dramatically. But, for reference, mine prints 1.2cm per hour. So, your standard 25mm figure is going to take about 3 hours (because it has a base, etc.). I can also do about 8-10 of them at a time.

spencer I'd have to pull it into software to estimate the amount of resin it would consume, but I'd guess somewhere around $20 - $40.

Post by mattcaron on Feb 22, 2017 19:55:46 GMT

alioth - Really nice sculpts. I am curious - why 18mm? Also, have you tried printing them larger? How do they look at, say, 28mm? I ask because your Planetary Militia would be excellent for another game that I play... and the rest would be excellent for this game.

spencer - I print using a UV curable resin, which is more problematic than the ones that heat/melt/fuse common plastics (called FDM printers), because you're left with an oily coating. In order to paint it, you: 1. Wash it with alcohol (to get off any uncured resin) 2. Stick it in a UV "oven" to finish hardening (makes it less flexible and more rigid) 3. Wash it again with a water/alcohol/dish soap mix and toothbrush.

In the end, it's roughly about the same level of difficulty of getting mold release off resin minis.

Also, the printers are really coming down in price. Monoprice's "little SLA" is supposed to debut in the $500 price range later this year:

Post by alioth on Feb 23, 2017 7:56:58 GMT

Mattcaron – I made figurines in 1/100 because I already have many decors and figurines at 1/100, 3D scale is not a problem, I draw my figures in 50mm and then I transform them into 1/100 by reducing the scale.